Important social issues on agenda at transport fair

Discussions about high-speed trains, plans for future road investments and matchmaking between companies boosted Sweden’s biggest – and leading – transport and infrastructure fairs: Elmia Future Transport, Elmia Nordic Rail and Elmia Nordic Road. For three days Swedish and Nordic transport issues were in focus in Jönköping, and a far higher proportion of international stakeholders were in attendance.

The three days included almost 100 seminars on roads, railways and tramways in Sweden and the wider Nordic region. There was a strong focus on necessary future investments up to 2050, such as laying high-speed railways and double tracks in southern Sweden.

The matchmaking programme at Elmia was a success, with around 1,000 booked meetings between 100 participants. Both the Swedish Transport Administration and NCC took the opportunity to look for new business partners. The Transport Administration was looking for suppliers for 12 different projects, and the various project groups presented their work.

“It is vital for us in our work to try to attract more international suppliers. It’s a great opportunity for both us and them,” says Camilla Ahston, international strategist at the Swedish Transport Administration.

Good start for new trade fair

Elmia Future Transport was held alongside Elmia Nordic Rail, the Nordic region’s leading railway fair, and this year also Elmia Nordic Road – the newcomer to the big transport family. Elmia Nordic Road focuses on roads, and their infrastructure and maintenance.

One of the first-time exhibitors was Saferoad Traffic AB, which manufactures and distributes traffic safety products such as signs, lighting columns, road barriers and bridge parapets.

“We decided to be at Elmia Nordic Road because we feel it’s a good future platform for us, and we want to contribute to the development of this fair. Four companies have merged since 1 June and we now operate under a single brand, so for us the fair is a good place to convey this news. We consider it a pleasant fair with a nice, even flow of visitors,” says Rickard Kronqvist, Head of Marketing at Saferoad Traffic AB.

Increased international interest

The proportion of international exhibitors increased by 20% this year compared to the previous fair in 2013, and the comments were generally positive both among exhibitors on the exhibition floor and in the conference rooms.

“It’s a very international fair and meeting-place focusing on infrastructure issues in both Sweden and the wider Nordic region, and we can see a growing interest from international stakeholders who want to be involved in both investing and supplying. The combination is a great success: product exhibition and highly interesting subjects, and a smorgasbord of seminars where you can meet everyone from experts at small details to representatives of large, visionary projects for the future. The new Elmia Nordic Road also fits in very well with the other fairs. The road sector often has to deal with the same issues as all the other transport sectors when it comes to infrastructure,” says Jörgen Nyström, Business Sector Manager for Elmia Future Transport, Elmia Nordic Rail and Elmia Nordic Road.

For further information about Elmia Future Transport, Nordic Rail and Nordic Road, please contact Jörgen Nyström, Business Sector Manager on tel. +46 (0)36-15 22 30, jorgen.nystrom@elmia.se, or Alexandra Rönnqvist, Communication Manager on tel. +46 (0)36-15 22 15, alexandra.ronnqvist@elmia.se